|
|
|
|
|
Non-Profit Deal Flow Room Participants:
Emerging Voices
|
CONTACT
Principals:
Diana Williams
Moira Griffin
55 Monroe St.
Suite 4
Brooklyn, NY 11238
Tel: (212) 726-2848
emergingvoicesusa@yahoo.com
website: currently under construction
|
Emerging Voices is a script development program designed to address two problems found within the film industry at large: lack of diversity within the ranks of screenwriters and lack of access to the industry and contacts for minority writers. Through an open call for submissions and a selection process involving industry members, the principals of Emerging Voices and an advisory panel, 8-10 writers, will meet twice a month, over an 8-month period, to develop 10 scripts. During these meetings, the writers will receive hands-on support in the form of one-on-one analysis of the scripts and screenplay readings; they will attend seminars by industry professionals to expand the writer's knowledge of the business side of the industry. Upon completion of each script, meetings with managers and agents will be set up, with an eye towards obtaining representation for those writers. Either through that agent/manager representation or the contacts provided by the principals and advisory panel for Emerging Voices, writers will then be able to have their scripts read and considered by key industry professionals and production companies, with the goal being an eventual sale of a script to the industry at large. For the initial year, Emerging Voices will rely upon grants and angel investors to fund the operating budget. In the following years, any earned income (i.e.: a % of the sale of any developed script) will be applied to the operating budget to offset the total amount of grant/angel investor money needed for that year.
For the past 5 years, the main three film guilds (directors, writers, and actors) have each reported either a stagnation or a decline in the number of working minorities in film, indicating a lack of diversity in front of and behind the camera. The Writers Guild of America reported in 1998 (its last study) that just 2.7% of all employed film writers were African American, with a pay gap of 21% - 40%. Though there has been an increased percentage of African American screenwriters applying to film schools and writers' labs, these writers and their stories will remain on the outside of the film industry looking in without the necessary contacts and access. Emerging Voices is designed to take these new voices and introduce them to the mainstream industry. By targeting African American writers and guiding them through the process of creating scripts, the program will encourage and nurture new voices within the black film community, as well as increase their exposure to key contacts within the industry and extend their knowledge about the business side of the industry.
Firelight Media
|
CONTACT
Marcia Smith
Executive Director
Firelight Media
324 Convent Avenue
New York, NY 10031
Tel: (212) 234-1324
marcia@firelightmedia.org
www.firelightmedia.org
|
Firelight Media is a New York City-based independent production company dedicated to telling stories of people, places, cultures, and issues that are underrepresented in the mainstream media. Our Executive Producer, Stanley Nelson, is a 2002 MacArthur "Genius" Fellow and has won a duPont, an Emmy, and the "Freedom of Expression Award" at Sundance, among many others. He has also had three films in the Sundance Documentary Competition in the last five years. In naming him a Fellow, the MacArthur Foundation hailed Stanley's "signature style and a distinctive cinematic voice," and stated that "his films on a wide variety of subjects convey powerful stories with evocative technique."
Our Executive Director, Marcia Smith, who has a background in politics and public policy, managed a multi-million dollar worldwide grants portfolio at a major foundation. Smith is also a writer who scripts Firelight projects, has written for such outlets as HBO and The Nation, and whose book Black America: A Photographic Journey has recently been released by Thunder Bay Press.
Firelight's mission is to produce media film, video, CD-ROM, DVD, and on the Internet that can inform public reflection and debate, and to maximize the consumption of those media in innovative ways. Our current projects include The Murder of Emmett Till, screening at Sundance; Faces of Change, which explores race and identity through the eyes of five activists from Brazil, Bulgaria, India, Mauritania, the U.S.; A Song for Everyone, a concert film and documentary of the acapella group "Sweet Honey in the Rock"; and a major, multi-part series on the economic history of the Atlantic slave trade.
The Just Think Foundation
|
CONTACT
David Yanofsky, Executive Director
Tel: (415) 561-2900 ext. 100
dave@justthink.org
Elana Rosen, President
Tel: (415) 722-7474
elana@justthink.org
39 Mesa St. Suite 106
San Francisco, CA 94129
|
The Just Think Foundation ("Just Think") is a dynamic, non-profit 501(c)3 organization dedicated to teaching youth how to become more media literate by providing them with the skills and technical tools to be critical thinkers and creative producers. Just Think trains young people and teachers to understand the words, images, and technology of today's mass media, inspiring them to think for themselves and create their own media messages. Just Think believes young people who can critically assess the influence of today's media and use technology responsibly are much more prepared to make informed, conscious decisions about their behavior and how they live their lives.
The "Local Heroes" project builds on these core concepts. This innovative curriculum encourages youth to tell the stories of their communities through the people who live and work there. Students identify, research, and then interview local heroes, recording their unique stories on digital video. They then take the footage and integrate it into a series of multimedia outlets, such as a short documentary film, a website, a photo collage, and a museum-like exhibit. Just Think is producing a behind-the-scenes' feature length documentary film which captures youth from five diverse communities as they embark on their own "Local Heroes" storytelling journey.
The Sundance Film Fund
|
CONTACT
Patricia Dandonoli
Director, Strategic Initiatives
Sundance Institute
8857 W. Olympic Boulevard
Beverly Hills, CA 90211
Tel: (310) 360-1981
Mobile: (310) 614-4764
Fax: (310) 360-1969
|
The Sundance Institute seeks an initial grant of $5 million to launch The Sundance Film Fund. The Sundance Film Fund would provide crucial support to dramatic and documentary films that express new, unheard voices and perspectives on matters of social import, including such issues as human rights, freedom of expression, social and environmental justice, and civil liberties. Through a competitive selection process, the Fund will provide development grants, works-in-progress grants as well as supplementary support for assistance with marketing, publicity, and outreach. Grant awards would range in size from a low of $10,000 to a high of $20,000 depending on the nature of the project, the overall project budget, phase of work, and the creative strength of the work. In order to ensure the long-term viability of the program and replenish the fund for future grantmaking while not imposing an untoward burden on the filmmaker Sundance proposes to include a stipulation in the grant award agreement that projects return a percentage of profits to the Fund. It is not anticipated that this approach will substitute for periodic infusion of new capital to the Fund, but it can supplement outside financing in meaningful ways in return for the Fund's investment in the project.
Despite the marked growth in the popularity of so-called independent films, it is more difficult than ever for emerging filmmakers to find financing and distribution for risk-taking, innovative, truly indepen-dent work. With the creation of the Sundance Film Fund, the Institute can address this need in the independent film community by strategically leveraging its experience in identifying outstanding work, in extensively supporting its development and production, and in bridging the arts/entertainment commun-ities to bring important works to the widest possible audience. The principal staff of the Sundance Film Fund Michelle Satter (Founding Director, Feature Film Program), Diane Weyerman (Director, Documentary Film Program), and Geoffrey Gilmore (Director, Sundance Film Festival) have unparalleled collective experience in all aspects of the independent film industry - both dramatic and documentary - as well as in identifying and promoting work with social impact. Because the Sundance Institute is a not-for-profit organization, individual donors to the Sundance Film Fund can take advantage of favorable tax treatment for their contributions.
WITNESS
|
CONTACT
Gillian Caldwell
Executive Director
WITNESS
353 Broadway
New York NY 10013
Tel: (212) 274-1664 ext 202
Fax: (212) 274-1262
gillian@witness.org
www.witness.org
|
WITNESS (www.witness.org) is an international human rights organization that uses the power of media to bring local stories of injustice to the attention of the world and help end human rights abuses. Co-founded by musician and activist Peter Gabriel, WITNESS has provided video cameras and training to over 150 partners in 50 countries around the world. Our partners are local non-governmental organizations and activists working on the frontlines of grassroots movements for change. This year, WITNESS is proud to be celebrating ten years of giving local groups a global voice.
WITNESS makes a difference:
The Mexican government reformed the country's psychiatric facilities after a public advocacy campaign built on WITNESS video images of people with psychiatric illness shackled to their beds.
The Philippine government was forced to investigate the murders of numerous indigenous activists who were peacefully pursuing ancestral land claims through the courts after WITNESS partner footage of the murderous attacks was broadcast around the world.
The United States passed a new law called the "Trafficking Victims Protection Act" and the United Nations approved a new protocol against human trafficking after WITNESS partners documented the Russian Mafia's trafficking of women from the former Soviet Union for forced prostitution.
WITNESS footage has been seen by millions of people. We have established a number of broadcast platforms and distribution channels for our partner videos. WITNESS videos have been broadcast on CNN, ABC, CBS, Telemundo, BBC, Oxygen, World Link TV, and numerous international TV stations. One of the premier platforms for our partners' programs is the WITNESS website, www.witness.org, which attracts over 1.3 million hits and 40,000 visitors each month. The WITNESS website broadcasts a new "Rights Alerts" on the home page a short online documentary about a pressing issue from one of our partners and provides viewers with opportunities to participate in email and letter-writing campaigns to create change.
Working Films
|
CONTACT
Robert West
Working Films
rwest@workingfilms.org
|
Working Films is a national non-profit organization that links independent documentary filmmaking with community organizing and direct action to support social, environmental, and civil justice. Our unique community-based media initiatives support strategic local and regional efforts; our national organizing campaigns are linked to high profile documentaries broadcast on HBO, the Sundance Channel, and PBS. Our goal is to create dynamic opportunities for independent media to address the issues of our times at home, in the classroom, and in our communities.
We are neither a production company nor a distributor. Working Films is a nationally recognized activist-driven bridge between high quality documentary filmmaking and serious policy shifting; we support life-changing organizing that works for social, economic, environmental, and racial justice and is tied to strategic and measurable outcomes.
WorldLink TV's Chat the Planet
|
CONTACT
WorldLink TV
901 Battery Street, Suite 206
San Francisco, CA 94111
Tel: (415) 457-5222
Fax: (415) 457-6810
www.worldlinktv.org
|
"Chat the Planet" is a groundbreaking television and web initiative that will transcend geographical, political, and cultural barriers to digitally link a community of dynamic young people from around the world. The program will be a provocative forum for youth aged 15-21 to encounter one another, share perspectives on critical issues, and experience the pulse of global youth culture a place where young people from different backgrounds can explore both their diversity and their interconnectedness. "Chat the Planet" begins as a series of half-hour dialogue shows where young people meet face-to-face, via a two-way video link, to gain knowledge and insight about world issues, learn how to take action, and be proactive in the world. Each program is linked to further activity on the Internet.
An international co-production, "Chat the Planet" will be broadcast in the U.S. on WorldLink TV, where it will serve as the cornerstone of the network's 2-hour youth strand, launching in Spring 2003. WorldLink is a 24-hour channel devoted to global issues available in 19 million American homes on DirecTV and DISH Network satellite systems, and many programs are provided for free to local public TV stations. The WorldLink youth strand will also consist of youth-produced media, programs acquired from international broadcasters, global news, World Music videos, and live wraparounds with local Chat Jockeys (CJ's).
Chat the Planet will be produced by NextNext Entertainment and its South African partner, Rapid Blue, for Link Media, the non-profit organization that operates WorldLink TV. NextNext has produced live action, documentaries, and animation for Disney Channel, Nickelodeon, Noggin, HBO Family, Oxygen Media, and ABC. Rapid Blue is a top South African production company which has produced over 5,000 hours of quality television and is a leader in youth-related programming.
Next Page >>
|
| |
| |
| |
|
